The Union and It’s Territory

Territory of India (Article 1)

India is described as a “Union of States” rather than a “Federation of States,” indicating a federal structure but with an indestructible union.
The territory of India is classified into three categories:
1. Territories of the states
2. Union territories
3. Territories that may be acquired by the Government of India in the future.
Union of India includes states, while Territory of India includes states, union territories, and any future acquired territories.
States share powers with the central government, whereas union territories and acquired territories are directly administered by the Centre.

India’s federation is not the result of an agreement among states, unlike in countries like the USA.
The states do not have the right to secede, making India a Union, not a federation.

India, as a sovereign state, can acquire foreign territories via various methods recognized by international law:
1. Cession (treaty, purchase, gift, lease, or plebiscite)
2. Occupation (unoccupied territory)
3. Conquest
4. Subjugation.
Example: Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, and Sikkim were acquired by India.

Parliament can admit new states into the Union or establish new states as it sees fit.
This includes admitting already existing states or establishing new ones not previously in existence.

Parliament can form new states, alter the boundaries, increase or decrease the area, and alter the name of any state.
A bill to form or change states must be introduced with the prior recommendation of the President, who must consult the concerned state legislature.
The President is not bound by the views of the state legislature, and for union territories, no such consultation is necessary.

Any agreement ceding Indian territory to a foreign country requires a constitutional amendment.
Examples include the 9th Constitutional Amendment Act (1960) for Berubari Union and the 100th Constitutional Amendment Act (2015) for territory transfers between India and Bangladesh.

Laws related to Articles 2 and 3 are not considered amendments under Article 368, meaning they can be passed by a simple majority and the ordinary legislative process.

India has 28 states and 8 union territories as of now.
The original Constitution had four categories of states and territories, which were unified after the 7th Amendment Act, 1956.

S K Dhar Commission (1948): Recommended reorganisation based on administrative convenience, rejecting linguistic considerations.
JVP Committee (1948): Rejected linguistic basis for reorganisation.
Fazl Ali Commission (1955): Accepted language as a basis but emphasized national unity. The Commission suggested the creation of 16 states and 3 union territories.
After the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act (1956), the states were reorganised and classified uniformly, with the distinctions between Part-A, Part-B, and Part-C states abolished.

1960: Maharashtra and Gujarat
1961: Dadra and Nagar Haveli became a union territory
1961: Goa, Daman and Diu (acquired from Portugal) became union territories
1962: Puducherry made a union territory
1963: Nagaland became a state
1966: Haryana, Chandigarh formed
1971: Himachal Pradesh became a state
1972: Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya became states
1975: Sikkim became a state through the 36th Amendment Act
1987: Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa became states
2000: Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand became states
2014: Telangana became a state
2019: Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act bifurcated Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
2020: Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were merged.

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Subject: Polity

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